VI + 

Tietjens lit a pipe beside the stile, having first meticulously cleaned out the bowl and the stem with a surgical needle, in his experience the best of all pipe-cleaners, since, made of German silver, it is flexible, wonвАЩt corrode and is indestructible. He wiped off methodically, with a great dock-leaf, the glutinous brown products of burnt tobacco, the young woman, as he was aware, watching him from behind his back. As soon as he had restored the surgical needle to the notebook in which it lived, and had put the notebook into its bulky pocket, Miss Wannop moved off down the path: it was only suited for Indian file, and had on the left hand a ten-foot, untrimmed quicken hedge, the hawthorn blossoms just beginning to blacken at the edges and small green haws to show. On the right the grass was above knee high and bowed to those that passed. The sun was exactly vertical; the chaffinchs said: вАЬPink! pink!вАЭ: the young woman had an agreeable back. + 

This, Tietjens thought, is England! A man and a maid walk through Kentish grass fields: the grass ripe for the scythe. The man honourable, clean, upright; the maid virtuous, clean, vigorous: he of good birth; she of birth quite as good; each filled with a too good breakfast that each could yet capably digest. Each come just from an admirably appointed establishment: a table surrounded by the best people: their promenade sanctioned, as it were, by the ChurchвБ†вАФtwo clergyвБ†вАФthe State: two Government officials; by mothers, friends, old maids.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Each knew the names of birds that piped and grasses that bowed: chaffinch, greenfinch, yellow-ammer (not, my dear, hammer; ammer from the Middle High German for вАЬfinchвАЭ), garden warbler, Dartford warbler, pied-wagtail, known as вАЬdishwasher.вАЭ (These charming local dialect names.) Marguerites over the grass, stretching in an infinite white blaze: grasses purple in a haze to the far distant hedgerow: coltsfoot, wild white clover, sainfoin, Italian rye grass (all technical names that the best people must know: the best grass mixture for permanent pasture on the Wealden loam). In the hedge: Our ladyвАЩs bedstraw: dead-nettle: bachelorвАЩs button (but in Sussex they call it ragged robin, my dear): So interesting! cowslip (paigle, you know, from old French pasque, meaning Easter): burr, burdock (farmer that thy wife may thrive, but not burr and burdock wive!); violet leaves, the flowers of course over; black briony; wild clematis: later itвАЩs old manвАЩs beard; purple loosestrife. (That our young maids long purples call and literal shepherds give a grosser name. So racy of the soil!)вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Walk, then, through the field, gallant youth and fair maid, minds cluttered up with all these useless anodynes for thought, quotations, imbecile epithets! Dead silent: unable to talk: from too good breakfast to probably extremely bad lunch. The young woman, so the young man is duly warned, to prepare it: pink india-rubber half-cooked cold beef, no doubt: tepid potatoes, water in the bottom of willow-pattern dish. (No! Not genuine willow-pattern, of course, Mr.¬†Tietjens.) Overgrown lettuce with wood-vinegar to make the mouth scream with pain; pickles, also preserved in wood-vinegar; two bottles of public-house beer that, on opening, squirts to the wall. A glass of invalid portвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ for the gentleman!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ and the jaws hardly able to open after the too enormous breakfast at 10:15. Midday now! + 

вАЬGodвАЩs England!вАЭ Tietjens exclaimed to himself in high good humour. вАЬвАКвАШLand of Hope and Glory!вАЩвБ†вАФF natural descending to tonic, C major: chord of 6вБ†вАУвБ†4, suspension over dominant seventh to common chord of C major.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ All absolutely correct! Double basses, cellos, all violins: all wood wind: all brass. Full grand organ: all stops: special vox humana and key-bugle effect.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Across the counties came the sound of bugles that his father knew.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Pipe exactly right. It must be: pipe of Englishman of good birth: ditto tobacco. Attractive young womanвАЩs back. English midday midsummer. Best climate in the world! No day on which man may not go abroad!вАЭ Tietjens paused and aimed with his hazel stick an immense blow at a tall spike of yellow mullein with its undecided, furry, glaucous leaves and its undecided, buttony, unripe lemon-coloured flower. The structure collapsed, gracefully, like a woman killed among crinolines! + 

вАЬNow IвАЩm a bloody murderer!вАЭ Tietjens said. вАЬNot gory! Green stained with vital fluid of innocent plantвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ And by God! Not a woman in the country who wonвАЩt let you rape her after an hourвАЩs acquaintance!вАЭ He slew two more mulleins and a sow-thistle! A shadow, but not from the sun, a gloom, lay across the sixty acres of purple grass bloom and marguerites, white: like petticoats of lace over the grass! + 

вАЬBy God,вАЭ he said, вАЬChurch! State! Army! H.M. Ministry: H.M. Opposition: H.M. City Man.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ All the governing class! All rotten! Thank God weвАЩve got a navy!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But perhaps thatвАЩs rotten too! Who knows! Britannia needs no bulwarksвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Then thank God for the upright young man and the virtuous maiden in the summer fields: he Tory of the Tories as he should be: she suffragette of the militants: militant here on earthвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ as she should be! As she should be! In the early decades of the twentieth century however else can a woman keep clean and wholesome! Ranting from platforms, splendid for the lungs: bashing in policemenвАЩs helmets.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ No! ItвАЩs I do that: my part, I think, miss!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Carrying heavy banners in twenty mile processions through streets of Sodom. All splendid! I bet sheвАЩs virtuous. But you donвАЩt have to bet. It isnвАЩt done on certainties. You can tell it in the eye. Nice eyes! Attractive back. Virginal cockiness.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Yes, better occupation for mothers of empire than attending on lewd husbands year in year out till youвАЩre as hysterical as a female cat on heat.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ You could see it in her: that woman: you can see it in most of вАЩem! Thank God then for the Tory, upright young married man and the suffragette kidвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Backbone of England!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

He killed another flower. + 

вАЬBut by God! weвАЩre both under a cloud! Both!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ That kid and I! And General Lord Edward Campion, Lady Claudine Sandbach, and the Hon.¬†Paul, M.P. (suspended), to spread the tale.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ And forty toothless fogies in the club to spread it: and no end visiting books yawning to have your names cut out of them, my boy!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ My dear boy: I so regret: your fatherвАЩs oldest friend.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ By Jove, the pistachio nut of that galantine! Repeating! Breakfast gone wrong: gloomy reflections! Thought I could stand anything: digestion of an ostrich.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But no! Gloomy reflections: IвАЩm hysterical: like that large-eyed whore! For same reason! Wrong diet and wrong life: diet meant for partridge shooters over the turnips consumed by the sedentary. England the land of pillsвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Das Pillen-Land, the Germans call us. Very properlyвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ And, damn it: outdoor diet: boiled mutton, turnips: sedentary lifeвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ and forced up against the filthiness of the world: your nose in it all day long!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Why, hang it, IвАЩm as badly off as she. SylviaвАЩs as bad as Duchemin!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ IвАЩd never have thought thatвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ No wonder meatвАЩs turned to uric acidвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ prime cause of neurasthenia.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ What a beastly muddle! Poor Macmaster! HeвАЩs finished. Poor devil: heвАЩd better have ogled this kid. He could have sung: вАШHighland MaryвАЩ a better tune than вАШThis is the end of every manвАЩs desireвАЩвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ You can cut it on his tombstone, you can write it on his card that a young man tacked on to a paulo-post pre-Raphaelite prostitute.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

He stopped suddenly in his walk. It had occurred to him that he ought not to be walking with this girl! + 

вАЬBut damn it all,вАЭ he said to himself, вАЬshe makes a good screen for SylviaвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ who cares! She must chance it. SheвАЩs probably struck off all their beastly visiting lists alreadyвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ as a suffragette!вАЭ + 

Miss Wannop, a cricket pitch or so ahead of him, hopped over a stile: left foot on the step, right on the top bar, a touch of the left on the other steps, and down on the white, drifted dust of a road they no doubt had to cross. She stood waiting, her back still to him.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Her nimble footwork, her attractive back, seemed to him, now, infinitely pathetic. To let scandal attach to her was like cutting the wings of a goldfinch: the bright creature, yellow, white, golden and delicate that in the sunlight makes a haze with its wings beside thistle-tops. No; damn it! it was worse; it was worse than putting out, as the bird-fancier does, the eyes of a chaffinch.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Infinitely pathetic! + 

Above the stile, in an elm, a chaffinch said: вАЬPink! pink!вАЭ + 

The imbecile sound filled him with rage; he said to the bird: + 

вАЬDamn your eyes! Have them put out, then!вАЭ The beastly bird that made the odious noise, when it had its eyes put out, at least squealed like any other skylark or tomtit. Damn all birds, field naturalists, botanists! In the same way he addressed the back of Miss Wannop: вАЬDamn your eyes! Have your chastity impugned then? What do you speak to strange men in public for! You know you canвАЩt do it in this country. If it were a decent, straight land like Ireland where people cut each otherвАЩs throats for clean issues: Papist versus ProtвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ well, you could! You could walk through Ireland from east to west and speak to every man you met.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ вАШRich and rare were the gems she woreвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЩ To every man you met as long as he wasnвАЩt an Englishman of good birth: that would deflower you!вАЭ He was scrambling clumsily over the stile. вАЬWell! be deflowered then: lose your infantile reputation. YouвАЩve spoken to strange pitch: youвАЩre defiledвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ with the benefit of Clergy, Army, Cabinet, Administration, Opposition, mothers and old maids of England.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ TheyвАЩd all tell you you canвАЩt talk to a strange man, in the sunlight, on the links without becoming a screen for some Sylvia or other.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Then be a screen for Sylvia: get struck off the visiting books! The deeper youвАЩre implicated, the more bloody villain I am! IвАЩd like the whole lot to see us here: that would settle it.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Nevertheless, when at the roadside he stood level with Miss Wannop who did not look at him, and saw the white road running to right and left with no stile opposite, he said gruffly to her: + 

вАЬWhereвАЩs the next stile? I hate walking on roads!вАЭ She pointed with her chin along the opposite hedgerow. вАЬFifty yards!вАЭ she said. + 

вАЬCome along!вАЭ he exclaimed, and set off at a trot almost. It had come into his head that it would be just the beastly sort of thing that would happen if a car with General Campion and Lady Claudine and Paul Sandbach all aboard should come along that blinding stretch of road: or one alone: perhaps the General driving the dogcart he affected. He said to himself: + 

вАЬBy God! If they cut this girl IвАЩd break their backs over my knee!вАЭ and he hastened. вАЬJust the beastly thing that would happen.вАЭ The road probably led straight in at the front door of Mountby! + 

Miss Wannop trotted along a little in his rear. She thought him the most extraordinary man: as mad as he was odious. Sane people, if theyвАЩre going to hurryвБ†вАФbut why hurry!вБ†вАФdo it in the shade of field hedgerows, not in the white blaze of county council roads. Well, he could go ahead. In the next field she was going to have it out with him: she didnвАЩt intend to be hot with running: let him be, his hateful, but certainly noticeable eyes, protruding at her like a lobsterвАЩs; but she cool and denunciatory in her pretty blouse. + 

There was a dogcart coming behind them! + 

Suddenly it came into her head: that fool had been lying when he had said that the police meant to let them alone: lying over the breakfast-table.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ The dogcart contained the police: after them! She didnвАЩt waste time looking round: she wasnвАЩt a fool like Atalanta in the egg race. She picked up her heels and sprinted. She beat him by a yard and half to the kissing-gate, white in the hedge: panicked; breathing hard. He panted into it, after her: the fool hadnвАЩt the sense to let her through first. They were jammed in together: face to face, panting! An occasion on which sweethearts kiss in Kent: the gate being made in three, the inner flange of the V moving on hinges. It stops cattle getting through: but this great lout of a Yorkshireman didnвАЩt know: trying to push through like a mad bullock! Now they were caught. Three weeks in Wandsworth gaol.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Oh hang.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

The voice of Mrs.¬†WannopвБ†вАФof course it was only mother! Twenty feet on high or so behind the kicking mare, with a good, round face like a peonyвБ†вАФsaid: + 

вАЬAh, you can jam my Val in a gate and hold herвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ but she gave you seven yards in twenty and beat you to the gate. That was her fatherвАЩs ambition!вАЭ She thought of them as children running races. She beamed down, round-faced and simple, on Tietjens from beside the driver, who had a black, slouch hat and the grey beard of St.¬†Peter. + 

вАЬMy dear boy!вАЭ she said, вАЬmy dear boy; itвАЩs such a satisfaction to have you under my roof!вАЭ + 

The black horse reared on end, the patriarch sawing at its mouth. Mrs.¬†Wannop said unconcernedly: вАЬStephen Joel! I havenвАЩt done talking.вАЭ + 

Tietjens was gazing enragedly at the lower part of the horseвАЩs sweat-smeared stomach. + 

вАЬYou soon will have,вАЭ he said, вАЬwith the girth in that state. Your neck will be broken.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, I donвАЩt think so,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Wannop said. вАЬJoel only bought the turnout yesterday.вАЭ + 

Tietjens addressed the driver with some ferocity: + 

вАЬHere; get down, you,вАЭ he said. He held, himself, the head of the horse whose nostrils were wide with emotion: it rubbed its forehead almost immediately against his chest. He said: вАЬYes! yes! There! there!вАЭ Its limbs lost their tautness. The aged driver scrambled down from the high seat, trying to come down at first forward and then backwards. Tietjens fired indignant orders at him: + 

вАЬLead the horse into the shade of that tree. DonвАЩt touch his bit: his mouthвАЩs sore. Where did you get this job lot? Ashford market: thirty pounds: itвАЩs worth more.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But, blast you, donвАЩt you see youвАЩve got a thirteen hands ponyвАЩs harness for a sixteen and a half hands horse. Let the bit out: three holes: itвАЩs cutting the animalвАЩs tongue in half.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ This animalвАЩs a rig. Do you know what a rig is? If you give it corn for a fortnight it will kick you and the cart and the stable to pieces in five minutes one day.вАЭ He led the conveyance, Mrs.¬†Wannop triumphantly complacent and all, into a patch of shade beneath elms. + 

вАЬLoosen that bit, confound you,вАЭ he said to the driver. вАЬAh! youвАЩre afraid.вАЭ + 

He loosened the bit himself, covering his fingers with greasy harness polish which he hated. Then he said: + 

вАЬCan you hold his head or are you afraid of that too? You deserve to have him bite your hands off.вАЭ He addressed Miss Wannop: вАЬCan you?вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬNo! IвАЩm afraid of horses. I can drive any sort of car; but IвАЩm afraid of horses.вАЭ + 

He said: + 

вАЬVery proper!вАЭ He stood back and looked at the horse: it had dropped its head and lifted its near hind foot, resting the toe on the ground: an attitude of relaxation. + 

вАЬHeвАЩll stand now!вАЭ he said. He undid the girth, bending down uncomfortably, perspiring and greasy: the girth-strap parted in his hand. + 

вАЬItвАЩs true,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Wannop said. вАЬIвАЩd have been dead in three minutes if you hadnвАЩt seen that. The cart would have gone over backwardsвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Tietjens took out a large, complicated, horn-handled knife like a schoolboyвАЩs. He selected a punch and pulled it open. He said to the driver: + 

вАЬHave you got any cobblerвАЩs thread? Any string? Any copper wire? A rabbit wire, now? Come, youвАЩve got a rabbit wire or youвАЩre not a handy man.вАЭ + 

The driver moved his slouch hat circularly in negation. This seemed to be Quality who summons you for poaching if you own to possessing rabbit wires. Tietjens laid the girth along the shaft and punched into it with his punch. + 

вАЬWomanвАЩs work!вАЭ he said to Mrs.¬†Wannop, вАЬbut itвАЩll take you home and last you six months as wellвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But IвАЩll sell this whole lot for you tomorrow.вАЭ + 

Mrs.¬†Wannop sighed: + 

вАЬI suppose itвАЩll fetch a ten pound noteвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ She said: вАЬI ought to have gone to market myself.вАЭ + 

вАЬNo!вАЭ Tietjens answered: вАЬIвАЩll get you fifty for it or IвАЩm no Yorkshireman. This fellow hasnвАЩt been swindling you. HeвАЩs got you deuced good value for money, but he doesnвАЩt know whatвАЩs suited for ladies; a white pony and a basket-work chaise is what you want.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, I like a bit of spirit,вАЭ Mrs.¬†Wannop said. + 

вАЬOf course you do,вАЭ Tietjens answered: вАЬbut this turnoutвАЩs too much.вАЭ + 

He sighed a little and took out his surgical needle. + 

вАЬIвАЩm going to hold this band together with this,вАЭ he said. вАЬItвАЩs so pliant it will make two stitches and hold forever.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

But the handy man was beside him, holding out the contents of his pockets: a greasy leather pouch, a ball of beeswax, a knife, a pipe, a bit of cheese and a pale rabbit wire. He had made up his mind that this Quality was benevolent and he made offering of all his possessions. + 

Tietjens said: вАЬAh,вАЭ and then, while he unknotted the wire: + 

вАЬWell! ListenвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ you bought this turnout of a higgler at the back door of the Leg of Mutton Inn.вАЭ + 

вАЬSaracenвАЩs вАЩEd!вАЭ the driver muttered. + 

вАЬYou got it for thirty pounds because the higgler wanted money bad. I know. And dirt cheap.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But a rig isnвАЩt everybodyвАЩs driving. All right for a vet or a horse-coper. Like the cart thatвАЩs too tall!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But you did damn well. Only youвАЩre not what you were, are you, at thirty? And the horse looked to be a devil and the cart so high you couldnвАЩt get out once you were in. And you kept it in the sun for two hours waiting for your mistress.вАЭ + 

вАЬThere werвАЩ a bit oвАЩ lewth вАЩlongside stable wall,вАЭ the driver muttered. + 

вАЬWell! he didnвАЩt like waiting,вАЭ Tietjens said placably. вАЬYou can be thankful your old neckвАЩs not broken. Do this band up, one hole less for the bit IвАЩve taken in.вАЭ + 

He prepared to climb into the driverвАЩs seat, but Mrs.¬†Wannop was there before him, at an improbable altitude on the sloping watch-box with strapped cushions. + 

вАЬOh, no, you donвАЩt,вАЭ she said, вАЬno one drives me and my horse but me or my coachman when IвАЩm about. Not even you, dear boy.вАЭ + 

вАЬIвАЩll come with you then,вАЭ Tietjens said. + 

вАЬOh, no, you donвАЩt,вАЭ she answered. вАЬNo oneвАЩs neckвАЩs to be broken in this conveyance but mine and JoelвАЩs,вАЭ she added: вАЬperhaps tonight if IвАЩm satisfied the horse is fit to drive.вАЭ + 

Miss Wannop suddenly exclaimed: + 

вАЬOh, no, mother.вАЭ But the handy man having climbed in, Mrs.¬†Wannop flirted her whip and started the horse. She pulled up at once and leaned over to Tietjens: + 

вАЬWhat a life for that poor woman,вАЭ she said. вАЬWe must all do all we can for her. She could have her husband put in a lunatic asylum tomorrow. ItвАЩs sheer self-sacrifice that she doesnвАЩt.вАЭ + 

The horse went off at a gentle, regular trot. + 

Tietjens addressed Miss Wannop: + 

вАЬWhat hands your motherвАЩs got,вАЭ he said, вАЬit isnвАЩt often one sees a woman with hands like that on a horseвАЩs mouth.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Did you see how she pulled up?вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

He was aware that, all this while, from the roadside, the girl had been watching him with shining eyes: intently even: with fascination. + 

вАЬI suppose you think that a mighty fine performance,вАЭ she said. + 

вАЬI didnвАЩt make a very good job of the girth,вАЭ he said. вАЬLetвАЩs get off this road.вАЭ + 

вАЬSetting poor, weak women in their places,вАЭ Miss Wannop continued. вАЬSoothing the horse like a man with a charm. I suppose you soothe women like that too. I pity your wife.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ The English country male! And making a devoted vassal at sight of the handy man. The feudal system all complete.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬWell, you know, itвАЩll make him all the better servant to you if he thinks youвАЩve friends in the know. The lower classes are like that. LetвАЩs get off this road.вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬYouвАЩre in a mighty hurry to get behind the hedge. Are the police after us or arenвАЩt they? Perhaps you were lying at breakfast: to calm the hysterial nerves of a weak woman.вАЭ + 

вАЬI wasnвАЩt lying,вАЭ he said, вАЬbut I hate roads when there are field-pathsвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬThatвАЩs a phobia, like any womanвАЩs,вАЭ she exclaimed. + 

She almost ran through the kissing-gate and stood awaiting him: + 

вАЬI suppose,вАЭ she said, вАЬif youвАЩve stopped off the police with your high and mighty male ways you think youвАЩve destroyed my romantic young dream. You havenвАЩt. I donвАЩt want the police after me. I believe IвАЩd die if they put me in WandsworthвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ IвАЩm a coward.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, no, you arenвАЩt,вАЭ he said, but he was following his own train of thought, just as she wasnвАЩt in the least listening to him. вАЬI daresay youвАЩre a heroine all right. Not because you persevere in actions the consequences of which you fear. But I daresay you can touch pitch and not be defiled.вАЭ + 

Being too well brought up to interrupt she waited till he had said all he wanted to say, then she exclaimed: + 

вАЬLetвАЩs settle the preliminaries. ItвАЩs obvious mother means us to see a great deal of you. YouвАЩre going to be a mascot too, like your father. I suppose you think you are: you saved me from the police yesterday, you appear to have saved motherвАЩs neck today. You appear, too, to be going to make twenty pounds profit on a horse deal. You say you will and you seem to be that sort of a personвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Twenty pounds is no end in a family like oursвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Well, then, you appear to be going to be the regular bel ami of the Wannop familyвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬI hope not.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, I donвАЩt mean,вАЭ she said, вАЬthat youвАЩre going to rise to fame by making love to all the women of the Wannop family. Besides, thereвАЩs only me. But mother will press you into all sorts of odd jobs: and there will always be a plate for you at the table. DonвАЩt shudder! IвАЩm a regular good cookвБ†вАФcuisine bourgeoise of course. I learned under a real professed cook, though a drunkard. That meant I used to do half the cooking and the family was particular. Eating people are: county councillors, half of them, and the like. So I know what men areвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ She stopped and said good-naturedly: вАЬBut do, for goodnessвАЩ sake, get it over. IвАЩm sorry I was rude to you. But it is irritating to have to stand like a stuffed rabbit while a man is acting like a regular Admirable Crichton, and cool and collected, with the English country gentleman air and all.вАЭ + 

Tietjens winced. The young woman had come a little too near the knuckle of his wifeвАЩs frequent denunciations of himself. And she exclaimed: + 

вАЬNo! ThatвАЩs not fair! IвАЩm an ungrateful pig! You didnвАЩt show a bit more side really than a capable workman must whoвАЩs doing his job in the midst of a crowd of incapable duffers. But just get it out, will you? Say once and for all thatвБ†вАФyou know the proper, pompous manner: you are not without sympathy with our aims: but you disapproveвБ†вАФoh, immensely, stronglyвБ†вАФof our methods.вАЭ + 

It struck Tietjens that the young woman was a good deal more interested in the causeвБ†вАФof votes for womenвБ†вАФthan he had given her credit for. He wasnвАЩt much in the mood for talking to young women, but it was with considerably more than the surface of his mind that he answered: + 

вАЬI donвАЩt. I approve entirely of your methods: but your aims are idiotic.вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬYou donвАЩt know, I suppose, that Gertie Wilson, whoвАЩs in bed at our house, is wanted by the police: not only for yesterday, but for putting explosives in a whole series of letter-boxes?вАЭ + 

He said: + 

вАЬI didnвАЩtвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ but it was a perfectly proper thing to do. She hasnвАЩt burned any of my letters or I might be annoyed; but it wouldnвАЩt interfere with my approval.вАЭ + 

вАЬYou donвАЩt think,вАЭ she asked earnestly, вАЬthat weвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ mother and IвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ are likely to get heavy sentences for shielding her. It would be beastly bad luck on mother. Because sheвАЩs an antiвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬI donвАЩt know about the sentence,вАЭ Tietjens said, вАЬbut weвАЩd better get her off your premises as soon as we can.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬOh, youвАЩll help?вАЭ + 

He answered: + 

вАЬOf course, your mother canвАЩt be incommoded. SheвАЩs written the only novel thatвАЩs been fit to read since the eighteenth century.вАЭ + 

She stopped and said earnestly: + 

вАЬLook here. DonвАЩt be one of those ignoble triflers who say the vote wonвАЩt do women any good. Women have a rotten time. They do, really. If youвАЩd seen what IвАЩve seen, IвАЩm not talking through my hat.вАЭ Her voice became quite deep: she had tears in her eyes: вАЬPoor women do!вАЭ she said, вАЬlittle insignificant creatures. WeвАЩve got to change the divorce laws. WeвАЩve got to get better conditions. You couldnвАЩt stand it if you knew what I know.вАЭ + 

Her emotion vexed him, for it seemed to establish a sort of fraternal intimacy that he didnвАЩt at the moment want. Women do not show emotion except before their familiars. He said drily: + 

вАЬI daresay I shouldnвАЩt. But I donвАЩt know, so I can!вАЭ + 

She said with deep disappointment: + 

вАЬOh, you are a beast! And I shall never beg your pardon for saying that. I donвАЩt believe you mean what you say, but merely to say it is heartless.вАЭ + 

This was another of the counts of SylviaвАЩs indictment and Tietjens winced again. She explained: + 

вАЬYou donвАЩt know the case of the Pimlico army clothing factory workers or you wouldnвАЩt say the vote would be no use to women.вАЭ + 

вАЬI know the case perfectly well,вАЭ Tietjens said: вАЬIt came under my official notice, and I remember thinking that there never was a more signal instance of the uselessness of the vote to anyone.вАЭ + 

вАЬWe canвАЩt be thinking of the same case,вАЭ she said. + 

вАЬWe are,вАЭ he answered. вАЬThe Pimlico army clothing factory is in the constituency of Westminster; the Undersecretary for War is member for Westminster; his majority at the last election was six hundred. The clothing factory employed seven hundred men at 1s. 6d. an hour, all these men having votes in Westminster. The seven hundred men wrote to the Undersecretary to say that if their screw wasnвАЩt raised to two bob theyвАЩd vote solid against him at the next election.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Miss Wannop said: вАЬWell then!вАЭ + 

вАЬSo,вАЭ Tietjens said: вАЬThe Undersecretary had the seven hundred men at eighteenpence fired and took on seven hundred women at tenpence. What good did the vote do the seven hundred men? What good did a vote ever do anyone?вАЭ + 

Miss Wannop checked at that and Tietjens prevented her exposure of his fallacy by saying quickly: + 

вАЬNow, if the seven hundred women, backed by all the other ill-used, sweated women of the country, had threatened the Undersecretary, burned the pillar-boxes, and cut up all the golf greens round his country-house, theyвАЩd have had their wages raised to half-a-crown next week. ThatвАЩs the only straight method. ItвАЩs the feudal system at work.вАЭ + 

вАЬOh, but we couldnвАЩt cut up golf greens,вАЭ Miss Wannop said. вАЬAt least the W.S.P.U. debated it the other day, and decided that anything so unsporting would make us too unpopular. I was for it personally.вАЭ + 

Tietjens groaned: + 

вАЬItвАЩs maddening,вАЭ he said, вАЬto find women, as soon as they get in Council, as muddleheaded and as afraid to face straight issues as men!вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬYou wonвАЩt, by the by,вАЭ the girl interrupted, вАЬbe able to sell our horse tomorrow. YouвАЩve forgotten that it will be Sunday.вАЭ + 

вАЬI shall have to on Monday, then,вАЭ Tietjens said. вАЬThe point about the feudal systemвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Just after lunchвБ†вАФand it was an admirable lunch of the cold lamb, new potatoes and mint-sauce variety, the mint-sauce made with white wine vinegar and as soft as kisses, the claret perfectly drinkable and the port much more than that, Mrs.¬†Wannop having gone back to the late professorвАЩs wine merchantsвБ†вАФMiss Wannop herself went to answer the telephone.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

The cottage had no doubt been a cheap one, for it was old, roomy and comfortable; but effort had no doubt, too, been lavished on its low rooms. The dining-room had windows on each side and a beam across; the dining silver had been picked up at sales, the tumblers were old cut glass; on each side of the ingle was a grandfatherвАЩs chair. The garden had red brick paths, sunflowers, hollyhocks and scarlet gladioli. There was nothing to it all, but the garden-gate was well hung. + 

To Tietjens all this meant effort. Here was a woman who, a few years ago, was penniless, in the most miserable of circumstances, supporting life with the most exiguous of all implements. What effort hadnвАЩt it meant! and what effort didnвАЩt it mean? There was a boy at EtonвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ a senseless, but a gallant effort. + 

Mrs.¬†Wannop sat opposite him in the other grandfatherвАЩs chair; an admirable hostess, an admirable lady. Full of spirit in dashes; but tired. As an old horse is tired that, taking three men to harness it in the stable yard, starts out like a stallion, but soon drops to a jog-trot. The face tired, really; scarlet-cheeked with the good air, but seamed downward. She could sit there at ease, the plump hands covered with a black lace shawl, and descending on each side of her lap, as much at ease as any other Victorian great lady. But at lunch she had let drop that she had written for eight hours every day for the last four yearsвБ†вАФtill that dayвБ†вАФwithout missing a day. Today being Saturday, she had no leader to write: + 

вАЬAnd, my darling boy,вАЭ she had said to him. вАЬIвАЩm giving it to you. IвАЩd give it to no other soul but your fatherвАЩs son. Not even toвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ And she had named the name that she most respected. вАЬAnd thatвАЩs the truth,вАЭ she had added. Nevertheless, even over lunch, she had fallen into abstractions, heavily and deeply, and made fantastic misstatements, mostly about public affairs.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ It all meant a tremendous record.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

And there he sat, his coffee and port on a little table beside him; the house belonging to him.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

She said: + 

вАЬMy dearest boyвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ youвАЩve so much to do. Do you think you ought really to drive the girls to Plimsoll tonight? TheyвАЩre young and inconsiderate; work comes first.вАЭ + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬIt isnвАЩt the distanceвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

вАЬYouвАЩll find that it is,вАЭ she answered humorously. вАЬItвАЩs twenty miles beyond Tenterden. If you donвАЩt start till ten when the moon sets, you wonвАЩt be back till five, even if youвАЩve no accidents.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ The horse is all right, thoughвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬMrs.¬†Wannop, I ought to tell you that your daughter and I are being talked about. Uglily!вАЭ + 

She turned her head to him; rather stiffly. But she was only coming out of an abstraction. + 

вАЬEh?вАЭ she said, and then: вАЬOh! About the golf-links episode.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ It must have looked suspicious. I daresay you made a fuss, too, with the police, to head them off her.вАЭ She remained pondering for a moment, heavily, like an old pope: + 

вАЬOh, youвАЩll live it down,вАЭ she said. + 

вАЬI ought to tell you,вАЭ he persisted, вАЬthat itвАЩs more serious than you think. I fancy I ought not to be here.вАЭ + 

вАЬNot here!вАЭ she exclaimed. вАЬWhy, where else in the world should you be? You donвАЩt get on with your wife; I know. SheвАЩs a regular wrong вАЩun. Who else could look after you as well as Valentine and I?вАЭ + 

In the acuteness of that pang, for, after all, Tietjens cared more for his wifeвАЩs reputation than for any other factor in a complicated world, Tietjens asked rather sharply why Mrs.¬†Wannop had called Sylvia a wrong вАЩun. She said in rather a protesting, sleepy way: + 

вАЬMy dear boy, nothing! IвАЩve guessed that there are differences between you; give me credit for some perception. Then, as youвАЩre perfectly obviously a right вАЩun, she must be a wrong вАЩun. ThatвАЩs all, I assure you.вАЭ + 

In his relief TietjensвАЩ obstinacy revived. He liked this house; he liked this atmosphere; he liked the frugality, the choice of furniture, the way the light fell from window to window; the weariness after hard work; the affection of mother and daughter; the affection, indeed, that they both had for himself, and he was determined, if he could help it, not to damage the reputation of the daughter of the house. + 

Decent men, he held, donвАЩt do such things, and he recounted with some care the heads of the conversation he had had with General Campion in the dressing-room. He seemed to see the cracked washbowls in their scrubbed oak settings. Mrs.¬†WannopвАЩs face seemed to grow greyer, more aquiline; a little resentful! She nodded from time to time; either to denote attention or else in sheer drowsiness: + 

вАЬMy dear boy,вАЭ she said at last, вАЬitвАЩs pretty damnable to have such things said about you. I can see that. But I seem to have lived in a bath of scandal all my life. Every woman who has reached my age has that feeling.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Now it doesnвАЩt seem to matterвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ She really nodded nearly off: then she started. вАЬI donвАЩt seeвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ I really donвАЩt see how I can help you as to your reputation. IвАЩd do it if I could: believe me.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But IвАЩve other things to think of.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ IвАЩve this house to keep going and the children to keep fed and at school. I canвАЩt give all the thought I ought to to other peopleвАЩs troubles.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

She started into wakefulness and right out of her chair. + 

вАЬBut what a beast I am!вАЭ she said, with a sudden intonation that was exactly that of her daughter; and, drifting with a Victorian majesty of shawl and long skirt behind TietjensвАЩ high-backed chair, she leaned over it and stroked the hair on his right temple: + 

вАЬMy dear boy,вАЭ she said. вАЬLifeвАЩs a bitter thing. IвАЩm an old novelist and know it. There you are working yourself to death to save the nation with a wilderness of cats and monkeys howling and squalling your personal reputation away.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ It was Dizzy himself said these words to me at one of our receptions. вАШHere I am, Mrs.¬†Wannop,вАЩ he said.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ AndвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ She drifted for a moment. But she made another effort: вАЬMy dear boy,вАЭ she whispered, bending down her head to get it near his ear: вАЬMy dear boy; it doesnвАЩt matter; it doesnвАЩt really matter. YouвАЩll live it down. The only thing that matters is to do good work. Believe an old woman that has lived very hard; вАШHard lying moneyвАЩ as they call it in the navy. It sounds like cant, but itвАЩs the only real truth.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ YouвАЩll find consolation in that. And youвАЩll live it all down. Or perhaps you wonвАЩt; thatвАЩs for God in His mercy to settle. But it wonвАЩt matter; believe me, as thy day so shall thy strength be.вАЭ She drifted into other thoughts; she was much perturbed over the plot of a new novel and much wanted to get back to the consideration of it. She stood gazing at the photograph, very faded, of her husband in side-whiskers and an immense shirtfront, but she continued to stroke TietjensвАЩ temple with a subliminal tenderness. + 

This kept Tietjens sitting there. He was quite aware that he had tears in his eyes; this was almost too much tenderness to bear, and, at bottom his was a perfectly direct, simple and sentimental soul. He always had bedewed eyes at the theatre, after tender love scenes and so avoided the theatre. He asked himself twice whether he should or shouldnвАЩt make another effort, though it was almost beyond him. He wanted to sit still. + 

The stroking stopped; he scrambled on to his feet: + 

вАЬMrs.¬†Wannop,вАЭ he said, facing her, вАЬitвАЩs perfectly true. I oughtnвАЩt to care what these swine say about me, but I do. IвАЩll reflect about what you say till I get it into my systemвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬYes, yes! My dear,вАЭ and continued to gaze at the photograph: + 

вАЬBut,вАЭ Tietjens said; he took her mittened hand and led her back to her chair: вАЬWhat IвАЩm concerned for at the moment is not my reputation, but your daughter ValentineвАЩs.вАЭ + 

She sank down into the high chair, balloon-like and came to rest. + 

вАЬValвАЩs reputation!вАЭ she said, вАЬOh! you mean theyвАЩll be striking her off their visiting lists. It hadnвАЩt struck me. So they will!вАЭ She remained lost in reflection for a long time. + 

Valentine was in the room, laughing a little. She had been giving the handy man his dinner, and was still amused at his commendations of Tietjens. + 

вАЬYouвАЩve got one admirer,вАЭ she said to Tietjens. вАЬвАКвАШPunched that rotten strap,вАЩ he goes on saying, вАШlike a gret olвАЩ yaffle punchinвАЩ a вАЩollow log!вАЩ HeвАЩs had a pint of beer and said it between each gasp.вАЭ She continued to narrate the quaintnesses of Joel which appealed to her; informed Tietjens that вАЬyaffleвАЭ was Kentish for great green woodpecker; and then said: + 

вАЬYou havenвАЩt got any friends in Germany, have you?вАЭ She was beginning to clear the table. + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬYes; my wifeвАЩs in Germany; at a place called Lobscheid.вАЭ + 

She placed a pile of plates on a black japanned tray. + 

вАЬIвАЩm so sorry,вАЭ she said, without an expression of any deep regret. вАЬItвАЩs the ingenious clever stupidities of the telephone. IвАЩve got a telegraph message for you, then. I thought it was the subject for motherвАЩs leader. It always comes through with the initials of the paper which are not unlike Tietjens, and the girl who always sends it is called Hopside. It seemed rather inscrutable, but I took it to have to do with German politics and I thought mother would understand it.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ YouвАЩre not both asleep, are you?вАЭ + 

Tietjens opened his eyes; the girl was standing over him, having approached from the table. She was holding out a slip of paper on which she had transcribed the message. She appeared all out of drawing and the letters of the message ran together. The message was: + 

вАЬRighto. But arrange for certain Hullo Central travels with you. Sylvia Hopside Germany.вАЭ + 

Tietjens leaned back for a long time looking at the words; they seemed meaningless. The girl placed the paper on his knee, and went back to the table. He imagined the girl wrestling with these incomprehensibilities on the telephone. + 

вАЬOf course if IвАЩd had any sense,вАЭ the girl said, вАЬI should have known it couldnвАЩt have been motherвАЩs leader note; she never gets one on a Saturday.вАЭ + 

Tietjens heard himself announce clearly, loudly and with between each word a pause: + 

вАЬIt means I go to my wife on Tuesday and take her maid with me.вАЭ + 

вАЬLucky you!вАЭ the girl said, вАЬI wish I was you. IвАЩve never been in the Fatherland of Goethe and Rosa Luxembourg.вАЭ She went off with her great tray load, the table cloth over her forearm. He was dimly aware that she had before then removed the crumbs with a crumb-brush. It was extraordinary with what swiftness she worked, talking all the time. That was what domestic service had done for her; an ordinary young lady would have taken twice the time, and would certainly have dropped half her words if she had tried to talk. Efficiency! He had only just realised that he was going back to Sylvia, and of course to Hell! Certainly it was Hell. If a malignant and skilful devilвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ though the devil of course is stupid and uses toys like fireworks and sulphur; it is probably only God who can, very properly, devise the long ailings of mental oppressionsвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ if God then desired (and one couldnвАЩt object but one hoped He would not!) to devise for him, Christopher Tietjens, a cavernous eternity of weary hopelessness.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But He had done it; no doubt as retribution. What for? Who knows what sins of his own are heavily punishable in the eyes of God, for God is just?вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Perhaps God, then, after all, visits thus heavily sexual offences. + 

There came back into his mind, burnt in, the image of their breakfast-room, with all the brass, electrical fixings, poachers, toasters, grillers, kettle-heaters, that he detested for their imbecile inefficiency; with gross piles of hothouse flowersвБ†вАФthat he detested for their exotic waxennesses!вБ†вАФwith white enamelled panels that he disliked and framed, weak printsвБ†вАФquite genuine of course, my dear, guaranteed so by SothebyвБ†вАФpinkish women in sham Gainsborough hats, selling mackerel or brooms. A wedding present that he despised. And Mrs.¬†Satterthwaite, in negligee, but with an immense hat; reading the Times with an eternal rustle of leaves because she never could settle down to any one page; and Sylvia walking up and down because she could not sit still, with a piece of toast in her fingers or her hands behind her back. Very tall; fair; as graceful, as full of blood and as cruel as the usual degenerate Derby winner. Inbred for generations for one purpose: to madden men of one type.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Pacing backwards and forwards, exclaiming: вАЬIвАЩm bored! Bored!вАЭ; sometimes even breaking the breakfast platesвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ And talking! Forever talking; usually, cleverly, with imbecility; with maddening inaccuracy; with wicked penetration, and clamouring to be contradicted; a gentleman has to answer his wifeвАЩs questions.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ And in his forehead the continual pressure; the determination to sit put; the d√©cor of the room seeming to burn into his mind. It was there, shadowy before him now. And the pressure upon his forehead.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

Mrs.¬†Wannop was talking to him now; he did not know what she said; he never knew afterwards what he had answered. + 

вАЬGod!вАЭ he said within himself, вАЬif itвАЩs sexual sins God punishes, He indeed is just and inscrutable!вАЭвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Because he had had physical contact with this woman before he married her; in a railway carriage; coming down from the Dukeries. An extravagantly beautiful girl! + 

Where was the physical attraction of her gone to now? Irresistible; reclining back as the shires rushed past.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ His mind said that she had lured him on. His intellect put the idea from him. No gentleman thinks such things of his wife. + 

No gentleman thinks.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ By God; she must have been with child by another man.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ He had been fighting the conviction down all the last four months.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ He knew now that he had been fighting the conviction all the last four months whilst, anaesthetised, he had bathed in figures and wave-theories.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Her last words had been: her very last words: late: all in white she had gone up to her dressing-room, and he had never seen her again; her last words had been about the childвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ вАЬSupposing,вАЭ she had begunвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ He didnвАЩt remember the rest. But he remembered her eyes. And her gesture as she peeled off her long white gloves.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

He was looking at Mrs.¬†WannopвАЩs ingle; he thought it a mistake in taste, really, to leave logs in an ingle during the summer. But then what are you to do with an ingle in summer? In Yorkshire cottages they shut the ingles up with painted doors. But that is stuffy, too! + 

He said to himself: + 

вАЬBy God! IвАЩve had a stroke!вАЭ and he got out of his chair to test his legs.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But he hadnвАЩt had a stroke. It must, then, he thought, be that the pain of his last consideration must be too great for his mind to register, as certain great physical pains go unperceived. Nerves, like weighing machines, canвАЩt register more than a certain amount, then they go out of action. A tramp who had had his leg cut off by a train had told him that he had tried to get up, feeling nothing at all.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ The pain comes back thoughвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ + 

He said to Mrs.¬†Wannop, who was still talking: + 

вАЬI beg your pardon. I really missed what you said.вАЭ + 

Mrs.¬†Wannop said: + 

вАЬI was saying that thatвАЩs the best thing I can do for you.вАЭ + 

He said: + 

вАЬIвАЩm really very sorry: it was that that I missed. IвАЩm a little in trouble, you know.вАЭ + 

She said: + 

вАЬI know: I know. The mind wanders; but I wish youвАЩd listen. IвАЩve got to go to work, so have you. I said: after tea you and Valentine will walk into Rye to fetch your luggage.вАЭ + 

Straining his intelligence, for, in his mind, he felt a sudden strong pleasure: sunlight on pyramidal red roof in the distance: themselves descending in a long diagonal, a green hill: God, yes, he wanted open air. Tietjens said: + 

вАЬI see. You take us both under your protection. YouвАЩll bluff it out.вАЭ + 

Mrs.¬†Wannop said rather coolly: + 

вАЬI donвАЩt know about you both. ItвАЩs you IвАЩm taking under my protection (itвАЩs your phrase!) As for Valentine: sheвАЩs made her bed; she must lie on it. IвАЩve told you all that already. I canвАЩt go over it again.вАЭ + 

She paused, then made another effort: + 

вАЬItвАЩs disagreeable,вАЭ she said, вАЬto be cut off the Mountby visiting list. They give amusing parties. But IвАЩm too old to care and theyвАЩll miss my conversation more than I do theirs. Of course, I back my daughter against cats and monkeys. Of course, I back Valentine through thick and thin. IвАЩd back her if she lived with a married man or had illegitimate children. But I donвАЩt approve, I donвАЩt approve of the suffragettes: I despise their aims: I detest their methods. I donвАЩt think young girls ought to talk to strange men. Valentine spoke to you and look at the worry it has caused you. I disapprove. IвАЩm a woman: but IвАЩve made my own way; other women could do it if they liked or had the energy. I disapprove! But donвАЩt believe that I will ever go back on any suffragette, individual, in gangs; my Valentine or any other. DonвАЩt believe that I will ever say a word against them thatвАЩs to be repeatedвБ†вАФyou wonвАЩt repeat them. Or that I will ever write a word against them. No, IвАЩm a woman and I stand by my sex!вАЭ + 

She got up energetically: + 

вАЬI must go and write my novel,вАЭ she said. вАЬIвАЩve MondayвАЩs instalment to send off by train tonight. YouвАЩll go into my study: Valentine will give you paper; ink; twelve different kinds of nibs. YouвАЩll find Professor WannopвАЩs books all round the room. YouвАЩll have to put up with Valentine typing in the alcove. IвАЩve got two serials running, one typed, the other in manuscript.вАЭ + 

Tietjens said: + 

вАЬBut you!вАЭ + 

вАЬI,вАЭ she exclaimed, вАЬI shall write in my bedroom on my knee. IвАЩm a woman and can. YouвАЩre a man and have to have a padded chair and sanctuary.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ You feel fit to work? Then: youвАЩve got till five, Valentine will get tea then. At half-past five youвАЩll set off to Rye. YouвАЩll be back with your luggage and your friend and your friendвАЩs luggage at seven.вАЭ + 

She silenced him imperiously with: + 

вАЬDonвАЩt be foolish. Your friend will certainly prefer this house and ValentineвАЩs cooking to the pub and the pubвАЩs cooking. And heвАЩll save on it.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ ItвАЩs no extra trouble. I suppose your friend wonвАЩt inform against that wretched little suffragette girl upstairs.вАЭ She paused and said: вАЬYouвАЩre sure you can do your work in the time and drive Valentine and her to that placeвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ Why itвАЩs necessary is that the girl darenвАЩt travel by train and weвАЩve relations there whoвАЩve never been connected with the suffragettes. The girl can live hid there for a bit.вБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ But sooner than you shouldnвАЩt finish your work IвАЩd drive them myselfвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ + 

She silenced Tietjens again: this time sharply: + 

вАЬI tell you itвАЩs no extra trouble. Valentine and I always make our own beds. We donвАЩt like servants among our intimate things. We can get three times as much help in the neighbourhood as we want. WeвАЩre liked here. The extra work you give will be met by extra help. We could have servants if we wanted. But Valentine and I like to be alone in the house together at night. WeвАЩre very fond of each other.вАЭ + 

She walked to the door and then drifted back to say: + 

вАЬYou know I canвАЩt get out of my head that unfortunate woman and her husband. We must all do what we can for them.вАЭ Then she started and exclaimed: вАЬBut, good heavens, IвАЩm keeping you from your workвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ The studyвАЩs in there, through that door.вАЭ + 

She hurried through the other doorway and no doubt along a passage, calling out: + 

вАЬValentine! Valentine! Go to Christopher in the study. At onceвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶ atвБ†вАКвБ†вА¶вАЭ Her voice died away. + 